(Baonghean.vn) – Although life has improved and most villages have rice mills, many families of the Khmu, Mong, Thai ethnic groups in Western Nghe An still preserve and use traditional rice pounding mortars as a way to reduce costs. This has become a unique cultural feature in the highlands of Nghe An.
 |
| Currently, many villages of Thai, Mong, and Kho Mu people in Ky Son district still use rice pounding mortars. People said that even though they have rice milling machines, they still use this mortar to save costs when pounding small quantities of rice. |
 |
| The mortar is carved from good woods such as: do da, xang vi, mai skull... |
 |
| If people in the lowlands used to use stone mortars, people in the highlands only used wooden mortars. Mr. Lo Pho Dau (Nhan Cu village - Ta Ca - Ky Son) said that the mortar he is using is more than 40 years old. Every time he moves house, he takes it with him. Almost every household in the village has a rice mortar. |
 |
| The pestle is made from a large log of wood and must be of solid wood. |
 |
| The stomping part and the pestle attachment part are connected by a horizontal bar as a fulcrum. |
 |
| The rice pounder has to stomp his feet hard to lift the pestle up and pound it down. |
 |
| Rice pounding mortars are often placed under the stilt houses of the Thai and Kho Mu people. |
 |
| The mortar bears the mark of time. |
 |
| Pounding rice is not too hard so children can also participate. |
 |
| After each time pounding rice, people often cover the mortar carefully for long-term use. |
Dao Tho
